I think the problem, as the article states, is the “bifurcation” of the economy. Politicians talk about this as the erosion of the middle or working class. Wag

I think the problem, as the article states, is the “bifurcation” of the economy. Politicians talk about this as the erosion of the middle or working class. Wage stagnation is very real and inflation, which remained somewhat muted is now also very real. The average cost of a new vehicle in the US is now over $40,000. That is almost double what it was 20 years ago. The cost of groceries, anecdotally, is almost double what it was 10 years ago where I live. And yet, wages have increased only moderately. There is nothing wrong with Dollar stores. They serve an important niche. Most everyone has probably shopped at one. The problem is that this is the primary market demand. Dollar stores are many things, but “nice” or “pleasant” are not words used to describe them. People aren’t usually shopping at dollar stores as a first choice. People are shopping at dollar stores as an only or last choice. More dollar stores means that these chains are seeing increased demand for their retail niche, which could be interpreted as a leading edge economic indicator that families are getting poorer.